Norwegian company to boost Maine production
Jotul, a Norwegian maker of home-heating equipment, plans to shift some production of its wood stoves from Norway to its Gorham manufacturing plant and create some jobs as a result.
The Bangor Daily News reported that the company will begin producing wood stoves in Gorham next year and hire seven workers to handle the increased operations. The company was already conducting engineering work on wood stoves at the Gorham plant.
Bart Watson, CEO and president of Jotul North America, said shifting work to the United States will reduce labor costs and allow the company to better prepare for new EPA regulations regarding wood stoves.
Jotul North America has 75 employees, all of whom are in Gorham, in what was once a Sebago shoe manufacturing site, spokesman David Peck told Mainebiz. Manufacturing of gas stoves has been a mainstay of workers there, but the addition of wood-stove manufacturing could add up to 12 jobs — with work ramping up as the weather gets colder. Workers are expected to produce 9,000 wood stoves a year — about the number being imported from Norway.
North American operations for Jotul (pronounced “yotul”) had roots in a Portland store, Kristia & Associates. The late Eva Horton started importing the stoves in the late 1970s, eventually selling operations to Jotul.
This week, there have been two examples of companies are “reshoring” work to the United States. Pride Manufacturing in Burnham announced that it would soon become the sole producer of Lincoln Logs, a toy that was previously manufactured in China.
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